A/N:
I have no idea why the chapter title in the chapter select has a character limit.
I think chapters are going to be longer
Like 'More Bang for your Buck'
Except your not paying
Anyway enjoy
Chapter 12
The Second Step is the Easiest
v-v
Time: Present day
Weather: Snow
Location: Unknown Hanger by Atlas Academy
"Who's that?" asked Ivory, curious to the new figure that entered the room.
"Well, her name is Neo Roanfaust, my adopted little sister."
"What?!" There was a collective surprise among the people in the room.
"You have a sister! How did I not know about this?" questioned Signi.
"Well, she was a very well hidden secret due to the nature of her past but she had been my sister for the past 3 years. However, there should be one thing to note. Neo cannot speak."
"How can she not speak?" questioned Leena.
"She was born with a disease that made her vocal cords not form properly. That in mind, I had come up with a solution." Neo joined Eirwen in the center of the observation room, overlooking everyone surrounding it. She pulled out her scroll then placed it on the ground in front of them. A holo screen displayed itself, facing towards the group. Also, a keyboard appeared in front of Neo. "Hello there," typed Neo.
"Wow, she can talk like this," exclaimed Ivory. Signi looked impressed but also looked like she already knew.
"So, that holographic display you told me to build, Eirwen, was for her?"
"Yes, of course."
"You could have told me that it was for her, I could have made something different.
Neo typed again, "I'm sorry that big sis didn't inform you, however, I was the one that told her to leave it like that."
"Hmm, that's fine, just wanted a little heads up, you know?"
Eirwen looked at her watch and perceived that she had to wrap it up. She clapped her hands together, "Alright everyone, so here's the deal. Neo and I have some business to attend to now. Signi, can you take the girls to their rooms?"
"Again?"
"Yes, because you know where the rooms are."
"Fine."
Ebon finally spoke up, "Eirwen, what are we really doing here?"
Eirwen held an innocent face, "Oh, we are just here to go to school and fight monsters." Something in that sentence bothered her, but kept it to herself for now. "Does anyone else have any questions?"
"Ooh, me, me!" Ivory raised her hand high.
"Yes, Ivory?"
"When do we start going to school?"
"Oh, in about an hour or two."
"Sweet!"
"Alright, if everyone has a job, get to it." Everyone started to clear the room except Eirwen, Neo, and Lieutenant James.
"Ma'am, may I take my leave?"
"Not quite, James."
"Ma'am?"
"You mentioned the Marines not cooperating."
"Yes, the Marines think that you are not a competent commanding officer."
"Well then, I will go introduce myself," Eirwen said, with a grin.
"Ok Ma'am, right this way."
The way to the barracks was very streamlined. From the arrows on the ground to the simple stairways in between. The only problem was that it was really dark. 'Huh, running on low power is standard for secret operations but it does get annoying.' The only real lights were the dim red lights in the hallways and Neo's dim light of her game. 'I thought was a good idea to make a game for Neo to practice flying all the time but it is just a game so time will tell if she is ready.'
When they arrived, they could overhear the ruckus going on inside. "You may leave me," commanded Eirwen. Acknowledging her command, James left swiftly to attend to his other duties. Eirwen stretched and cracked her knuckles, "Well, Neo, it's about to get rough so stay on your toes." Neo gave an affirmative nod after putting away her game and then entered the room. Inside the barracks of the commanding platoon, the platoon giving out her orders. What she saw was a group of undisciplined children with apparently licenses to hold rifles. The soldiers they saw, was a ring of soldiers cheering on what looked to be a fight. "Get her, get her," yelled one soldier. " You show that man up," yelled another, that seemed to have a more feminine voice. As Eirwen got closer, she spotted who was fighting through a hole in the crowd. It was Sergeant Clovis Alberg being pinned down by First Lieutenant Leona Berke.
"You had enough, huh?" spat Leona.
"Fine, fine, I give up," shouted Clovis.
They both got up, Leona being the victor and Clovis catching his breath. 'Wow, these people do this for fun. Let me have a taste,' Eirwen thought. She took the black coat she had on earlier and handed it to Neo. She turned to face Neo, "Listen Neo, I'm going to give some discipline to these people, so you just watch." Neo nodded her head in acknowledgment, "Good." A slow clap was heard from the corner of the room and everyone diverted their attention to it. Eirwen came out of that corner with a small grin on her face, "Well done, well done! This is exactly how a professional military should work." Everyone in the room heard her sarcasm and started to growl at her but Leona raised a hand and it stopped immediately.
"What is a school girl doing in a restricted area?" Leona said in a commanding tone.
Eirwen raised a small laugh, "Oh, a 'school girl'? Is that how you should be talking to your commander?"
" Ha! You, our commander? Are you trying to get yourself out of this by bluffing?"
"Well, we can test that." Eirwen walked forward towards a barrel that was between them.
"Does a simple arm wrestling match settle it?"
Leona huffed out a laugh, "Really, you want to give yourself a disadvantage?"
"Sometimes, underestimating your opponent could be fatal."
"Hmm, I like how you think." They placed their elbows on the table and locked their hands together. "Hey, Clo, ref our game." That same lieutenant on the ground came right back up and placed his hand above the two. 'Ah, good control over her troops,' Eirwen thought.
"Ok, the match starts in three, two, one, go!" Leona started off by putting all her strength in one push to end it but something else happened. She couldn't move an inch. Leona tried 2 more times but the other girl's arm didn't budge.
"Wow, what a surprise. Didn't know you had muscle on you. Are you using that fancy aura that little school girls like you can protect themselves with?" Leona retorted.
"I have to admit, that was a good one, but sorry to crush your hopes. I am currently not using an aura."
"Prove it."
"Very well." Eirwen took her free hand an unsheathed one of her knives on her thigh and then proceeded to cut a straight line across her left cheek. As soon as the knife left her face, blood started to slowly drip out. There were collective oohs and ahhs within the crowd around them. "Am I done proving myself?" Eirwen challenged with a smirk.
Leona started getting angry with this cocky little girl, "The only thing that you need to prove is who is stronger."
"Oh, if that is the case." As if she was holding back, a sudden force opposed Leona's hand and then overwhelmed it to immediately put the back of her hand on the wooden surface of the barrel in an instant. There was just silence as the room took in the shock, especially Leona who, never in her life, lost an arm wrestling match. As Eirwen left her shocked hands, Leona was left with so many questions about who this girl is or was. Eirwen walked over to the door where Neo greeted her and handed her her coat. She put on the coat and looked back with a wide grin at the still shocked group of soldiers, "Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you observe unwavering fealty to your commander. If you want a name, I will give you this. White Death." Leona questions were answered right then and there. Eirwen shortly left the barracks right after. Lt. Clovis was the first to speak, "So, that was something. Well, commander, it's not every day you meet a living legend."
Leona started to laugh," I guess so, I just got beat by the assassin that got over 100 kills in a year. My god damn luck!" Leona then walked over to one of the metal tables in the room and stood up on it. "Attention men, we got a new commander and she tough as nails so, let's fight harder and harder so we can make her proud. Oorah!"
"Oorah!" everyone repeated.
"Lt. Clo."
"Ma'am."
"Get our next deployment order."
"Yes, Ma'am!" Lt. Clovis left them in a good mood.
"Everyone else, get set for new orders."
"Yes, Ma'am," everyone shouted in unison.
"From now on, it's about to be a wild ride," Leona mused to herself.
Eirwen could hear the shouts from the railing overlooking the hanger bay. "What a bunch of loudmouths. Don't you agree, Neo?"
Neo pulled out her tablet and started typing, "I guess so."
"Well, at least they can now fire their weapons properly. Maybe even hit a target?"
"Ha. Ha, ha."
"That was probably a bad joke but in all seriousness, I have to go."
"Why?"
"Because I have to exercise teamwork with my new teammates."
"Oh, I forgot. Come back soon, ok?"
Eirwen rubbed the top of Neo's head, "I will before you know it. Now, back to your room."
"Ok." Neo put away her tablet and ran down the walkway. After she disappeared from sight, Eirwen quickly put her finger to the cut and in her mouth. The sensation was small but was enough for Eirwen to feel something. The same cut got healed spontaneously as she consumed the blood.
"Now back to work."
Location: Room Sector #142
As soon as Ebon tried to lie down on the bed, a speaker came on, "Could the 3 girls that were escorted please go to monorail station six and bring any belongings with you." 'And I was just trying to sleep.' Ebon lazily jumped from her bed and grabbed her travel bag and put on her coat. She still felt a little unsettled by the fact that they were made out of Beowulf fur but ignored it as she exited the door. As Ebon entered the hallway, she looked both ways to see Leena and Ivory, wearing the same coats and carried bags.
"I wonder what this about," questioned Leena
"I think it has something to do with the school," Ivory interjected.
"Maybe so, but we have to get there to find out," Ebon suggested. The three girls went together to the nearest elevator. Signi told them that the elevator was designed for direct access to the monorail system so the B letters mean what number the monorail was. Using that information, they entered and pressed the B6 button. The elevator closed with a hard crunch and started moving. Ebon tried thing of many reasons why Eirwen recruited them but one thing for sure is that she is trying to do the right thing. Eirwen's methods are questionable, but in her eyes, they get results. After Ebon finished her thought, the door to the elevator opened and they were greeted by the familiar face of Eirwen.
"Good morning once again ladies, today we are embarking on an adventure!" Eirwen was trying to sound cheerful but it was straining her. Her cheerful greeting left only Ivory applauding and Leena smiling. Ebon was still holding a look of disinterest. "Ok, so that approach failed. Well then, I think you guys are thinking about why are we down here by a monorail. As you may have guessed, we are finally going to school."
"Knew it," Ebon stated, forthrightly.
"Why are we going to school again?" asked Leena, curious.
"We're going to school so we can maintain cover and, I guess, I wanted to go to high school with friends." Eirwen buried her head into her coat after saying the second reason.
'Oh, she has humanity,' Ebon thought.
"Well if that's the case, I would love to be your friend, Eirwen," Leena responded, jovially.
"Really?"
"Yes, really."
"Yay, group hug!" Ivory blurted out of nowhere. She rushed and grabbed up everyone, even with Ebon's protesting. After the hug, Eirwen regained her composure.
"Anyway, initiation is starting in an hour, so let's get on board." They boarded without issue and the door closed. Though it was sudden, the monorail started moving.
Ebon spoke up, "Wait, isn't initiation where they make random teammates?"
" Yes, that is true, but I have a workaround. Everyone, hand me your scrolls."
Everyone in the monorail did as they were told and gave Eirwen their scrolls. She placed the scrolls together and laid her own scroll on top. There was a slight computer sound, then a click for completion. Eirwen handed back the scrolls and Ebon checked what she did. There was a new app called "Team Locator".
"What is this supposed to do?" Leena asked.
"It will secure our team choice."
"So, we're cheating, right?" Ebon stated.
"In a way, yes, but don't worry, General Ironwood already knows."
"Wait, why does he know?"
"So, his little special forces team maintains their cover."
"Special forces?"
"Oh, yeah, almost forgot," Eirwen turn to face everyone with a smiling face," From now on, we are known as team ELIE, the first huntress-based Atlas special forces unit."
There was a collective "Huh?" all around Eirwen.
"So, we're going from just meeting you to full-fledged special forces?" blurted Ebon.
"Well… yeah," Eirwen responded with a smile that felt uncomfortable to Ebon.
"So, if we are these 'special forces' you speak of, who will be our foe?" Leena inquired.
"Well, you know, the White Fang rings a bell," Eirwen clarified. Instead of surprise, the rail cabin was filled with silence. Eirwen tried breaking the silence, "But, that isn't the only enemy we will face."
"Yeah, yeah, we get it. It is just that we had 'experiences' with the White Fang." Ebon answered and also looked to her sister who was longing looking out the rail window.
"You can say that we all lost something to the White Fang," Leena deadpanned.
"Well, it's not like that I knew that already," Eirwen muttered. Ebon was observing that the conversation took a dark turn, she decided to include Ivory because she hadn't said much the entire ride.
"Ivory, did you know about this?"
She turned towards the group, "Yes, of course, Eirwen told me all the details a month ago."
"Oh, I see." Ebon was mostly shocked that her sister knew about this but the tone she used was very unlike her sister's. It was very dead. Before they knew it, they were stopped at the exit station.
"Ah, we are here," Eirwen looked at her scroll, "and not a moment too soon, we have orientation in 30 minutes."
"30 minutes," Ebon and Leena said in unison.
"Yes, of course, let's get right to it." Leena hastily grabbed her stuff, same as Ebon and rushed out the door to the stairs. Ivory was doing the same thing but was with less haste. Eirwen walked up behind Ivory and put her hand next to her ear. She proceeded to snap and Ivory mind went blank. Eirwen then whispered in her ear, "Ivory, wake up, time to be normal." Ivory suddenly started falling as Eirwen caught her in her arms. Her eyes slowly opened.
"Where am I?"
"Ivory dear, you need to catch up with our teammates and take your stuff as well."
"Oh, really? Well, I better get going then. How much time do I have left?"
"25 minutes."
"25 minutes!" Ivory jumped right back up, grabbed her bag, and ran up the side stair, using her semblance lightly. In turn, Eirwen grabbed her belongings and headed to the same stairs.
'My, my, Ivory will be a very good pawn,' Eirwen mused to herself and started climbing.
The Grand Hall
Ebon notice that Eirwen arrived by the sudden presence behind her. On instinct, she jumped out of the way and grasped for her weapon which was not there. "Wow, habits never die hard," teased Eirwen.
"Well, excuse me for being on guard all the time. You never know what can kill you out there," Ebon answered rhetorically
"Oh, I know," Eirwen uttered to herself, knowing all too well that feeling. "Anyway, shouldn't we be heading to the grand hall?"
"Yes, of course! Almost forgot," Leena indicated. As they started walking, Ebon pulled back Ivory to the back of the group.
"Hey, little sis, you ok?"
"Yeah, yeah, everything is fine. Why do you ask?"
"Well, it felt like you weren't yourself for a bit."
"Hmm, maybe I wasn't...Ah, nevermind! Let's catch up."
"Ivory, wait-," Ebon called out but to no avail. She was already ahead. Something is up, Ivory never acts this weird. Could Eirwen have done something to her? I have to investigate further to get a better idea. Ebon's rambling where interrupted when she saw Leena calling out for her. Ebon didn't realize that she was so far away from the group and sprinted to match their pace.
The grand hall was as it was called, grand. The floor, the ceiling, the walls, everything was very modern and ornate at the same time, a very stark contrast to the old, Victorian structure style of the exterior. The interior of the room was very symmetrical with chairs lined up on each side of the room flawlessly, making a center walkway to the podium at the front. Above the chair and in the center of the hall, was a very elegant chandelier with the various dust crystals adorning it. All, of course, mined by the Schnee Dust Company. Since they were the latest, all the student were in their chairs, mostly chatting with each other about teams and such. Ebon scanned the crowd to see what type of people would be attending the school they were going to spend their lives in. As expected, she saw mostly rich kids trying to become hunters and huntresses for the fun of it but then she spotted some faunus. It was a small group, but it looked to be enough to form 2 or 3 teams. That is a relief that there is a good amount of faunus here. Ebon looked around some more were she was tapped on the shoulder by Leena.
"Hey, did you see the faunus?" whispered Leena.
"Yeah," whispered back Ebon.
"That's pretty cool that we aren't the only people in this school that are Faunus."
Eirwen joined their conversation when she heard them talking, "Hey you two, we have to be seated."
"Right," They responded in unison. As they picked their seats, a woman walked up to the podium.
"Good morning, students, the staff here at Atlas Academy welcome to this school so you can become hunters and huntresses to battle against the force of Grimm. Albeit, it sounds very cheesy, but every single one of you here in the hall has the potential to become the greatest warriors on Remnant. Now, a word from our headmaster." She stepped offstage and a man, Ebon presumed to be General Ironwood, stepped to the podium.
"Students, I personally thank you for coming to this school as well as welcome you. In a time where peace is being threatened by individuals who only wish for chaos, we need people like you to stand up for weak and protect the kingdoms from the forces of Grimm. Now to get you there, you need to take 4 years of an Academy to get your license and this is the place to do it. So, let us jump right in. As tradition in any of the four academies, there is a rigorous entrance exam then there is an initiation. Here at Atlas, we combined our military and the school together so that affected the initiation as well. We train our soldiers with the type of training to survive the harshest conditions to even fight off Grimm themselves if it comes to it. So if the same training is bestowed upon you, you shall be able to fight the Grimm off anywhere. Now, who's ready to fight some Grimm!" The crowd responded with the same enthusiasm. "That's what I like to hear. Now, my aide will instruct you to your starting point as well as brief you on what the Initiation is."
Eirwen and Ivory both caught up to the group, and Eirwen spotted Ebon and Leena towards the back.
"Ebon," Ivory called out. Ebon turned her head to see the elegantly strolling Eirwen and the fatigued Ivory, still running. As Ivory stopped in front of her, she took a minute to catch her breath but long enough for Eirwen to reach her side. "Ha, beat you."
"Well, I let you," Eirwen remarked.
"Sure you did."
"Well, I know I did because I didn't want to beat you so easily."
"Really, well I-."
"Will you two knock it off?" They were surprised by Ebon's voice.
"Sorry," they both responded.
"Now, since you are here, Eirwen, I have a question to ask."
"And what will that be?"
"It is about the-."
"Plan?" Ebon was taken aback by her answer speed.
Leena chimed in, "Yeah, while you two were having a race, we were talking about what the initiation was." Ebon was very suspicious of Eirwen's scheming mainly to the fact of Ivory's tone change but something seemed off.
"Well, that will be explained now," Eirwen answered while pointing behind them to a large round platform with Winter on top, looking at the students.
"Listen up! I'm going to tell you once so you better hear this or you are going to die."
Winter had a very serious tone, a tone that Eirwen very much enjoyed while on missions with her. "We are going up this elevator to the AAF Spear of Mantle. From there you will be only equipped with your weapon, the clothes on your back, and one piece of a flare. You will then be deployed to the surface to a random location below using the new drop pod system that the ship has equipped. Once you reach the ground, you will need to locate 3 other people and place the pieces together to form one flare to shoot into the sky. After the flare is shot, a care package will be dropped and you will follow the instructions inside," Winter took a breath, "Any questions?"
One hand was raised in the crowd, "Yes, miss…"
"Fuchs, ma'am." Ebon looked to see a short dark-skinned girl that looked to be a fox Faunus. "Are these drop pods tested?"
"Will it make you feel better if I told you?"
"I-I guess."
Winter cracked a smile, "That's for you to find out." The comment did not help else the girl fears but worsen them. "Now, anyone else?" The silence crept over the crowd at the intimidation of the task in front of them.
"Hmph, this is not difficult, it is just a test. Just pass it and move on." Everyone looked towards the sound to see a rich looking boy with similar boys around him.
"And you are?"
"Schnitzel Müller of Müller Inc., the greatest weapon maker in Atlas."
"And a name makes you think it is easy, so much so for everyone else." Winter had a hint of anger due to his arrogance.
"Well, if you got to the school in the first place, you're supposed to be good enough," he argued.
"Getting to the school is one thing, but surviving is something else. If you think you're hot stuff, then prove yourself first. That will give you the right to speak about others." With Winter's stalwart decree, the conversation ended. "Now, it is time for the proving grounds. Everyone, into the elevator."
The students boarded the elevator and the platform rose. Eirwen was very much amused by the spectacle that was portrayed as well as the rich nature of Schnitzel. Her mind started to wander to slowly cutting him up, watching him scream and flail. As Eirwen involuntarily licking her lips at the thought brushing her tongue blood that remained from his bleeding corpse. Realizing her bloodlust was starting to show, she quietly laughed to herself to drown it out. Unfortunately, Ebon saw her, but she was the only one. Before they knew it, they reached the main deck of the ship. Some of the students were amazed by the technology in this bay. Leena and Ivory were apart of the same group. "Wow, Atlas is still modernizing! It has been ages since I was in Atlas so I didn't know they went this far." Leena was very fascinated by it all.
"I agree, I agree, so much cool stuff." While Leena and Ivory were having a moment, Ebon and Eirwen were alone.
"So the technology doesn't interest you," Eirwen asked.
"It is not that, it's just that I have stuff on my mind," Ebon answered.
Eirwen grabbed Ebon's hand, which surprised her, "Well, I'm here, so tell me."
Ebon quickly pulled her hand away and looked away. "Who are you?" Slightly shocked by her rejection and confused by the question, Eirwen tried answering the best she could.
"Well, I'm me."
" No, who are you," Ebon snapped, looking Eirwen dead in the eye. She realized that Ebon was talking about the elevator. No, No, No… She isn't talking about that.
"Um, I don't know what you mean," responded Eirwen, her voice growing timid.
"Why were licking your lips and smiling? That smile was not even a normal one. It was filled with sinister intentions." Ebon started losing her stoic persona because of the enigma in front of her. This girl, who seemed to have the experience of a war-toiled soldier, was acting extremely innocent. That event alone was enough to fully question the trust between them. Before Eirwen can answer, there was a beep of a speaker calling for all students to meet at the drop bay. "We'll finish this later. All I want is to finish this test and move on. Just tell us the plan and we will do it." She walked towards the bay, leaving in a wrecked state of emotions. Her mask was just cracked by one of her teammate that was supposed to trust her. Now that was broken. She couldn't fix this anymore. Eirwen was slowly losing her sanity to her lust when she remembered the thing that Vivien gave her. She rushed through her pockets for her bottle. When Eirwen found it, she dumped a couple in her hand hastily and gulped it down. Eirwen started to regain control and straightened her clothes. She knows that she can fix this and she will. Eirwen strode towards the bay.
The drop pod bay was packed full of students, not really designed for it anyway. Winter was standing on top of a utility box that was lying around. "Now the loaders here will help you into your pods and secure your weapons. They will give you a quick tutorial on what to do when your pod lands and then lock your pod for launch. Some last words for advice. If you are motion sick, suck it up. If you are too scared, why are you even here? If you want to kill something, make it the Grimm. Am I clear?" A "Yes, ma'am," was echoed around the room and the student began to board. When Eiwen was about to board, Winter passed by her. "Good hunting, White," she whispered. As she got seated, she sent a call to the rest of her teammates and explained the plan.
Once everyone was ready, Winter gave the signal to drop and one by one they began to fall. Some were calm, some weren't, some were excited, some were just scared out of their minds, but one thing was certain to Eirwen. This would be the best fall of her life.
A/N:
Well, things are getting spicy.
Next chapter is fun.
New characters (Hint, Hint)
See you at the next.